Mitel has pulled in former Polycom head honcho Mary McDowell as CEO following the departure of Rich McBee.
As CEO of Polycom she led an operating model transformation which delivered revenue growth and a successful sale to Plantronics in 2018.
Prior to Polycom, McDowell was EVP at Nokia where she was in charge of the company’s $15bn global feature phone business and oversaw Nokia’s developer and app store organisation.
Previous roles also include senior positions at Compaq Computer and Hewlett Packard.
McDowell currently serves as a board member for software company Autodesk and UK-based Informa, the events and publishing company. She is also a board member for the Committee of 200, a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of women in business.
“I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and eager to work closely with Mitel’s team and network of partners,” enthused McDowell.
McBee added: “Mitel is well positioned to accelerate the market transition to cloud and Mary has the technology expertise needed to lead the company.”
Andrew Frey, Mitel board member and partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, commented: “Mary’s proven operating experience and success in guiding technology companies through market transitions make her an ideal choice to guide Mitel in this next chapter.”